A farmer captured the heartbreaking moment a newborn lamb was carried off by a sea eagle.
Duncan Maclean, 40, was checking on his sheep this morning when he spotted three sea eagles – two clutching lambs in their talons.
Mr Maclean has already lost around six lambs to eagles this season – but this was the first time he witnessed them being carried off.
The part-time farmer in Uist, Outer Hebrides, said ‘it’s very frustrating and disheartening to see.
‘We knew it had been happening because we notice the missing lambs but actually seeing it made me angry,’ he added.
Each lamb sells for £80 to £100, so losing two in a day is a significant loss, according to the farmer.
Mr Maclean said: ‘We’re not a big patch as we only have 200 ewes to lamb and 10 cows so losing this many lambs has a big impact on us.’
The sea eagles, or white-tailed eagles, have become more and more troublesome to rural Scottish farmers over the past few years, he said.
The most recent set of eaglets was relocated from Norway in 2007 and Mr Maclean has noticed the impact of their reintroduction.
Mr Maclean said: ‘It used to not be an issue at all. I remember starting to see one or two about five years ago but there still wasn’t a big problem.
‘These days you will see multiple in the air at any one time.
‘I was out in the field with my son just this morning helping an ewe give birth and there was one hovering right above us as though it was waiting for its chance to strike.
‘It feels like the eagles have just been far too successful in their reintroduction!’
Mr Maclean has also observed a cruel – yet effective – hunting method used by the eagles.
The eagles seem to target ewes who are having twins and swoop down to snatch the firstborn while the sheep gives birth to the second.
Duncan said: ‘We’ve had ewes who have scanned showing twin lambs and then when we have checked on them after giving birth, there’s only one lamb.
‘We always check in the nearby area for a dead lamb but haven’t found one, which we can only assume means it was taken by an eagle.
‘It’s tough to manage because we can try and relocate the sheep to another field or put up scarers, like scarecrows, but the eagles aren’t intimidated by much.
‘They have become a real problem for the farmer in the area.
‘I know we’re not the only people dealing with this.’